1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to convertible crutches. More particularly, the present invention relates to crutches that have a movable arm that extends out to allow the user to rest on a chair formed by the arm and the crutch.
2. Background of the Invention
One of the oldest and most universally recognized devices still in use today in medical practices worldwide is the common crutch. Such common crutches are ubiquitous and essentially the same shape and design everywhere throughout the world. These common crutches are most often used by persons who have had an accident, have undergone a medical procedure usually involving the lower extremity, or otherwise have difficulty walking. A common use for the common crutch is to assist the person who has some immobility in maintaining balance and/or providing assistance during walking.
Although heavy and often cumbersome, the common crutch is usually constructed of wood or a lightweight metal, and remains a simple yet invaluable device that assists a mobility-compromised person in traveling or standing. However, such crutch cannot perform other functions that the person using it also would need, for example, provide an option to rest. A person using such a common crutch often gets tired from the awkward and unusual process of walking using such crutches and often needs to stop and rest, mostly by leaning against the crutch and using it as a base anchor or pole. Such rest has to be done standing up because there are typically no nearby chairs or benches for the person to rest upon. Resting on the ground/floor would not be a usual option because sometimes the process of getting up to a standing position from a sitting position on the ground/floor is sometimes more tiresome than the walking process using the crutches.
After an injury to the leg, be it a break, sprain, or surgery, the patient is often advised to keep weight off of the leg and walk with the aid of crutches until the injury can finish healing. From the 1994 National Health Interview Survey on Disability, Phase I, in 1994, 575,000 people in the United States found themselves on crutches. If the numbers for people using canes and walkers is included, the number jumps to 7,136,000 people.
When a person finds themselves on crutches, her personal and worldviews change. Balance is affected, nimbleness is reduced, more space is required for locomotion (48″ in a passageway versus 24″ for a healthy human being), and more/new stress is placed on the non-injured leg, wrists, and underarms. Distances previously covered on foot without difficulty become a challenge, and many more rest periods are needed. Activities that previously did not require much effort, such as running errands, shopping in the mall or at the grocery store, spending time in line at the post office or department of motor vehicles now become major chores. Something as minor as standing around can become an exhaustive activity. Taking the stairs up to one's non-ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) approved domicile can cause mental as well as physical stress. Joints not used to such extensive use are at risk for repetitive stress injury (RSI). Over time, the muscles pulled in to compensate for the damaged leg will strengthen and be better able to withstand the extra load placed upon them. Meanwhile, and even later, sometimes all that is needed is the ability to give the overworked muscles and joints a brief rest. However it is rare to nonexistent to see a chair in the middle of a crowded clothes store, there is no seating available as one waits in the security line at the airport, chairs are not built into sidewalks every 20 feet, or even 20 yards, and even a museum, which has seating, does not have so much that it is available when and where one may need it. People with mobility assist devices, such as crutches, feel this lack of available seating and resting areas much more than the rest of the population, which does not even have the additional burden of having to carry those cumbersome crutches.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a simple and universal technique to provide a way for persons using crutches to rest anywhere, any time, without having to look for appropriate places to rest, such as a chair or bench, and without the need to have to sit on the ground or floor.